Automatic crating machine



Jan. 12, 1937 c. A. MILLER. SR 2,067,301

AUTOMATIC CRATING MACHINE Filed May 11, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet l k N Elma/whom E Charles [7. Miler. 5r.

VWXZW Jan. 12, 1937 c. A. MILLER, SR 2,067,301

AUTOMATIC CRATING MACHINE Filed May 11, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Charles H. MY/EJ", 5n

Jan. 12, 1937 c. A. MILLER. SR

AUTOMATIC CRATING MACHINE Filed May 11,. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ocooou Jan. 12, 1937 c. A. MlLLER, SR

AUTOMATIC a umna MACHINE Filed May 11, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q Char/5'5 f7. MY/E'P. 5r.

\Q WW mm, O 6% Patented Jan. 12, 1937 O IC 1 ,5 67, 301-' p Amomm GRATING mom I j Charles Al vin Miner, srg nainbfla m i 7 {Application May 11, 1935, swarm. 21,021,

4 mm. (craze- 14 .This invention relates to' crating machines in,

general; and, more particularly to a novel machine for automatically assembling bottles, or other containers, and automatically placing them in properorder in shipping cratesorthe like.

The;main objectof the present invention is to provide a simple and effective apparatus which ,may be used conveniently and advantageously in :onjunctionwith the machinery commonly employed. in bottling plants, whereby'the,con-

tainers-or bottles may be automatically placed in the crates without danger of breaking or disorder. A I 7 A further object of the invention is-to provide. apparatus of.the character referred to with safety mechanism to prevent the movement of crates through the machine Whenever the feed of bottles or the like is stopped. 1 Other objects of the invention will-become apparent as the detailed description thereof proceeds. 1

In, the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus embodying the present invention; r .Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure-3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section taken also on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, but with the parts moved to a different position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the elemerits of the invention, and illustrating operating cam mechanism in section, taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a side elevation of another cam operated element, the operating cam mechanism being shown in section, taken on the'line l-'I of Figure 5; vFigure 8 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 8--8 of Figure 3; Figure 9 is a planview of a modified form of the invention shown in the preceding figures;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line-lO- -lfl of Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a fragmentary detail, to an enlarged scale, of clutch-mechanism forming part of the modificationv shown in Figure 9. v

As shown in Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, 'of the drawings, the invention comprises a substan tially horizontal support I, to which the crates C may be fed by any suitable roller or gravity conveyor, such as is commonly used for this purpose in bottling plants. vWhen the crates are positioned on the support I, they ,are moved transversely of an endless conveyor 2 by mechanism, the operation of which is controlled by the .60 passage of a predetermined number of bottles to a "fixed. position above the support I. in other words; in thee-operation of this machine, the

.crates-are fed intermittently to a predetermined position of rest on the support I-, suchmotion vbeingcontrolled wholly by the movement of a' 5 predetermined number of bottles to a fixed. position above the pathof movement of the crates. As shown clearly in Figures 1, 3'and .4 of the drawings, the upper branch 3 .of. the endless conveyor, moves substantially at, right angles'lO ,to the direction of movement. ofythecrates C on the support 7 I. The conveyor branch is moved across thesupport I by a power driven shaft 4 rotatably mounted in a journal bearing 5 which is suitably secured-to a plate 'gforming l5 partof the supporting framework of themachine. The shaft 4 has a bevel pinion 5 secured to the end thereof; and this pinion 6 meshes with acorrespondingly beveled pinion- 1, suitably secured to the end of a shaft 8 which is journaled 20 in bearing brackets 9 and I0, spaced apart along and suitably secured to a plate H formingpart of the supporting framework of the machine.

A second shaft I2 is journaled at one end in a bearing l3 fixed to the plate I! forming part of 25 the supporting framework of the machine. The other end of the shaft l2 extends into a clutch element [5 slidably mounted on and keyed to the shaft 8. The other clutch element It; is fixed to the shaft l2 near the other end thereof 30 and is provided with a sawtoothed edge adapted to mesh with a correspondingly toothed edge on the clutch element l5. There is nothing novel in this clutch mechanism, which is merely illustrated here to show one form of a device by means 35 of which the normally non-rotating shaft l2 may be thrown into rotation automatically by the presence of a predetermined number of bottles on the upper branch 3 of the endless conveyor.

The clutch element I5 is provided with an an- 40 'nular groove l1 adapted to receive pins I8 and 19 extending inwardly toward each other from the furcations 20 and 2| of a shipper lever 22, which is secured to a vertical stub shaft 23 journaled in a bearing 24 fixed to the plate H of the 45 supporting framework. A crank arm 25 fixed to the lower end of the shaft 24, is pivoted at its other end tov a rod 25 which extends across the support I to be pivotally connected to the end of a crank arm 21 secured to or formed integral 50 witha shaft 28, which is journaled in a bearing 29 fixed to the plate l4 forming part of the supporting framework.

A hook member 30 is secured to the end of the rod 26 near its pivotal connection. to the 55 crank arm 21; and a tension spring 3| is detachably connected at one end to the end of the aforesaid hook member 30. The other end of the spring 3| is connected to a hook32 at the end of a bolt 33, which projects slidably through an co ing stop member spring 3| for the purpose of normally holding the shaft 28 in position to cause an arm 36 fixed to the end of shaft 23 to extend as a yield.-' across the branch 3 of the conveyor 2.

-As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the

' clutch elements l5 and I6 have been moved, by

from the plane of the pressure of bottles againstgthe arm 36, into engaged position in order to transmit the rotation of the shaft 3 to the shaft l2. It will be apparent from inspection of Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings that if there were no bottles on the conveyor 2 to rotate the arm 36 into the position shown in Figure 2, the tension of the spring 3| would pull the rod 26 and crank arm 35 so as tohold the shipper arm 32 in position to disengage the element |5 of the clutch from the element l6 and thereby release the shaft |2 from operative engagement with the power shaft 3.

The support I has secured to the opposite edges thereof the guide plates 31 and 33, serving to guide the crates C into proper position below a bottle guide frame 33 which is located immediately to the rear of the branch 3 of the conveyor 2. The bottle guide frame comprises the standards 43 and 4| suitably secured at their lower ends to the plates 31 and 38, respectively. A cross bar 42 connects the upper ends of the standards 43 and 4| and serves as a support for brackets 43 and 44 which rotatably support the pulleys 45 and 46, respectively.

A bottle guide 41 is mounted to slide vertically between the standards 43 and 4|, which are provided with grooves 48 and 43, respectively, receiviiig the anti-friction rollers 53, rotatably mounted on opposite side walls of the bottle guide 41. Chains 5| and-52, suitably secured at one end to the top of the guide 41, extend, through apertures 53 and 54, respectively, in the cross bar 42, and around the pulleys 45 and 46 to be secured to the upper ends of rocking arms 55 and 56.

The arms 55 and 56 are pivoted at their lower ends to the outer sides of the guide plates 31 and 38, respectively; and, near their lower ends are shaped to form enlargements 51 and 58, each of\ which is provided with a substantially rectaiggular slot 59 in which rotates a cam 63, fixed tothe shaft 2. The arms 55 and 56 are similar in every respect, their upper parts being bent their lower parts to take care of the different distances of separation of the standards 43 and 4| and the guide walls 31 and 38.

A cross bar 6| extends between and is suitably secured to the arms 55 and 56. A pair of arms 62 and 63, pivoted to the cross bar 6|, are fixed to the inner face of a push plate 64, which at its lower edge is slidably supported by the substantially horizontal flange 65 of an angle iron 66 suitably secured to the plate l4 which forms part of the framework of the machine, and which at its upper edge, constitutes one of the supports of the branch 3 of the endless conveyor. The

The shaft I2 is also provided with spaced apart cams 68 which operate in substantially rectangular slots 63 formed in arms 13 and 1| which are pivoted at their lower ends to lugs 13' and 1| extending downwardly from the guide plates 31 and 38, respectively. The upper ends of the arms 13 and 1| are pivoted to the ends of links 12 and 13 which have their other ends pivotally connected to swinging arms 14 and 15, which are pivote at their upper ends to a crossbar 16 fixed o the standards 11 and 13. It will be noted that the arms 13 and 1| are provided with recesses 13, to clear the pivots connecting the lower ends of the arms 55 and 56 to the supporting plates 31 and'38.

The arms 14 and 15 are bifurcated at their lower ends, and these bifurcations are slotted to secured to the inner faces of the guide plates 31 .and 38. The opposite ends of eachof the rods 3| and 32 are provided with lugs oted at their upper. ends to the and 32, and are provided with stop members 31 and 33 adapted to contact with corresponding stop members 39 and 33 fixed to the sliding rods 8|and 82. It will be apparent from Figures 3 and 4 that the lugs 85 and 86 only in an anticlockwise direction, as seen in these figures. Therefore, it vwill'be obvious that when the members 85 and 36 are in vertical position, they will be arranged within the partitions of the crates C so as to move the aforesaid crates 35 and 36 pivsliding rod 3| forwardly under the conveyor 3 whenev r the arms 13 and 1| are rocked about their lower fulcrum pivots.

The cams 63 and 68 are so designed and arranged on the shaft |2 that while the crates are in a stationary bottle receiving position, the arms 55 and 56 have moved so as to lower the guide 41 onto the top of the partitions of the crate immediately below it. Before this'lowering takes effect, the push plate 64 has moved a row of bottles into the spaces the bottle guide 41. Immediately after the bot tles have been pushed into these spaces, the bottle guide 41 begins its descent with the bottles therein to direct the aforesaid bottles into the spaces of the crate immediately below the aforesaid guide. The parts are so timed in operation that while the crates are being moved forward by the lugs 85 and 36, the arms 55 and 56 are in retracted position to permit the bottles to be fed against a stop 3| which is suitably secured to the framework supporting the endless conveyor.

The solid guide 41 with its recesses presents decided advantages over the fixed guides of the prior art. This guide 41 slides vertically from the bottle receiving position directly onto the top of the partitions in the crates below, with the bottle receiving recesses accurately registering with the compartments in the crates. If this guide were fixed in its upper position, the bottles moved into the recesses would be liable to move I into the space below the lower edge of the guide cause a jamming of the mechanism and breakage of bottles. It is to eliminate the possibility of such *jamming and breakage, that applicant's bottle guide has been mounted to slide from its upper vertical bottle receiving position, as shown in Figure 3, to its lower bottle delivering position shown in Figure 4. By this construction, the guide 41 forms a positive means for delivering bottles of various sizes into the compartments are capable of rotation designed to receive them in of the crate below. The necessity for the sliding construction of the guide 47 arises from the fact that the bottles extend beyond the top edges of the crate; and also because the crate moving members 8|, 85, and 66 extend above the top edges of the crate and'must have a clearance necessary for their proper operation.

In order to avoid mutilation of the sides of the crates C during their movement toward filling position, the guide wall 38 is provided with a series of antifriction rollers 92 which project through slots suitably formed in the wall 38 and are adapted to contact with one side of the crate C to facilitate their movement toward filling position. The other wall 3'! is provided at suitable intervals with arms 93 pivoted at their outer ends to the wall 30 and extending through suitable slots therein toward the adjacent walls of the crates C. The free ends of the arms 93 are provided with rollers 90; and compression springs 95 are arranged between the wall 31 and the arms 93 so as to cause the rollers 94 to exert a yielding pressure on the crates C and force them against the rollers 92, thereby' determining their positions laterally with respect to the bottle guide 41 and the bottle receiving recesses therein.

The form of the invention shown in Figures 9 and 10 is for the greater part quite similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, similar parts thereof being given the same reference numerals. In this particular form, the bottle guide 96 is fixed at its lower ends to the side walls 31' and 38' of the crate support. The clutch elements I5 and I6 are substantially the same as the corresponding elements shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. The shaft 8', however, does not extend across the crate supporting runway, but is turned down to form a shoulder 91 and a supporting extension 96, on which is rotatably mounted the clutch element I6.

As shown clearly in Figure 11 of the drawings, the element I is keyed to the shaft 8; while the element I6 is rotatably mounted on the shaft extension 98. The end of the extension 98 is screwthreaded to receive a washer plate 99 and a lock nut I00 to maintain the clutch element I6 against undue axial sliding movement on the extension 98.

The lower part of the clutch element I6 is provided with a crank arm IOI pivotally connected at its outer end to one end of the link I02, which at its other end is pivoted to an arm I03 extending from and forming one of the three arms of a lever, designated generally by the reference numeral I04, and pivoted at the junction of the arms I03, I05 and I06 to a shaft I0I, which is rotatably mounted in bearings I08 and I09 suitably secured to a member IIO forming part of the conveyor supporting framework of the machine. The member IIO and a second member III correspond to the supporting members for the conveyor branch 3 shown in the other figures of the drawings.

The lower end of the arm I06 has pivotally connected thereto a pusher H2, adapted to ride over the upper edges of the partitions in the crate C and to extend into said partitions as shown in Figure 10 of the drawings, to move the crates step by step into bottle receiving position, under the bottle guide 96. A spring H3 secured to the arm I06 impinges against the upper edge of the pusher 2, to force the latter into yielding contact with the upper edges of the partitions of the crate C.

As shown in Figure 9 of the drawings, there are two three-armed levers I04, secured in spaced apart relation to the shaft I 01. While one of these levers and the mechanism connected thereto would be sufficient to effect the necessary movements of the crate in properly timed relation toward the bottle receiver 96, it is preferable to use two of these levers with the pushers connected thereto, in order to avoid any possibility of jamming the crates in their runways.

The pusher plate H0 is pivotally connected by the arms H4 and I I5 to the upper ends of the arms I05 of the three-armed levers, and leaf springs I|6 secured to the edges of the arms I05 extend into contact with the inner face of the pusher plate II 0, to hold the latter substantially in vertical position. A stop plate II! is secured to, or formed integral with, one end of the pusher plate I I0, to prevent movement of bottles on the conveyor branch 3' while the pusher plate is in the act of moving the bottles into the recesses formed in the bottle receiver 96.

It will be noted that the bottle receiver 96 extends downwardly to within a very short distance of the top of the crates supported by the runway I. The rear wall in each recess of the bottle receiver is cut away as shown at H8, in order to permit movement of the crates after insertion of the bottles therein.

It will be evident from inspection of Figure 10 of the drawings, that as the pusher plate H0 is moved inwardly to push the bottles into the recesses in the receiver, the pusher member H2 moves rearwardly over the upper edge of a partition in the crate, to engage the next rearward partition. The continued rotation of the shaft I0! rocks the arms I04 and causes movement of the crates into bottle receiving position at the same time as they withdraw the pusher plate I I0, to permit another group of bottles to be moved by the conveyor 3' against the stop member 9|.

It is believed the operation of this form of the invention will also be apparent to persons skilled in the art, without further explanation, and from inspection of the drawings.-

' What I claim is:

Crating apparatus comprising a frame, a bottle guide reciprocable vertically on said frame and having a plurality of vertical bottle receiving recesses formed in one side thereof, a conveyor continuously moving bottles in a row in front of the recesses in said guide, means for intermittently moving crates under said conveyor to predetermined position below said guide, a pusher plate movable across said conveyor intermittently for pushing a predetermined number of bottles from said row into the recesses in said guide, means for operating said plate and crate moving means in alternation, mechanism operable by contact with a bottle on said conveyor for automatically controlling the operation of said operating means, and means connected to said pusher plate and operable during the movement of the plate toward said guide for lowering the guide onto a crate during the rest period thereof, and for rais ing said guide into bottle receiving position during the movement of said plate away from said guide.

CHARLES ALVIN MILLER, SR. 

